Grow what consumers want! Surveys show that blue is one of the top preferred colors of today’s consumers. Here are twelve top recommended blue flowering Proven Winners annuals and perennials to suit your spring production cycle.

Join D.S. Cole Growers, Loudon, N.H., on Thursday, August 1, 2013 for its Annual Open House. All are welcome to attend to relax and enjoy what the breeders from Sakata, Danziger, Takii, Suntory, Ball FloraPlant, Selecta, Syngenta Flowers and others have created. The event also includes food, beverages and live music. Pesticide credits are available for those attending biological control talks presented by Carol Glenister of IPM Labs. Please RSVP by contacting Trina at trina@dscolegrowers.com or 603-783-9561.

Verbena Enduro Series by Ball FloraPlant Ball FloraPlant’s new Enduro series of hardy landscape verbena is tough. Over summer, it stays in flower longer while over winter it’s hardy to the low teens. Enduro tolerates powdery mildew and the series is available in three colors for 2014 sales: Purple, White Blush, and Rose.

The HGTV HOME Plant Collection unveiled its new Expressions Annuals for 2014 during the OFA Short Course in Columbus, Ohio, on July 14. The new annuals collections include Shady Showoffs, So Gorgeous! Geraniums, Fine Vines Mandevillas and WonderCalis Calibrachoas, says Randy Hunter, managing partner of Agricola Management Group, the exclusive licensee for the Plant Collection. “We’ve had tremendous response to the launch of the HGTV Home Plant Collection and Expressions Annuals in 2013,” Hunter says. “Retailers and consumers alike have embraced our pre-selected annual mixes that take the guesswork out of which plants go best together in container gardening. Now, we’re looking forward to continued expansion in 2014 with more exciting new pre-selected annual mixes,” Hunter says. HGTV worked in conjunction with Agricola Management Group to develop the Expressions Annuals Collections, which includes the new plant varieties for 2014. “For 2014, we’re branching out in new directions with three of […]

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bobo’ (Proven Winners A compact, 3- to 4- foot shrub, ‘Bobo’ is completely engulfed in flowers at bloom time. Flowers are creamy white, turning pinkish as they age. Winner of the Gold Florall award for Best Novelty Plant, ‘Bobo’ is ideal for small gardens.

In the fall there is a fresh crispness in the air, enticing gardeners everywhere to spruce up their gardens, patios and porches. Summertime hinted of an improvement in the marketplace and, as the days start to get shorter, we are witnessing the beginnings of the housing market making a steady (and in some places very impressive) comeback. The modern American homeowner is again ready to dig in, excited to celebrate everything she has worked so hard to get and eager to share her success with friends. So let’s give her something new and exciting to work with! In addition to the autumn bread-and-butter crop, chrysanthemums, there are many products that should be promoted this fall in order to maintain and contribute to the momentum we are experiencing. The assortment is expanding from the reliable mum to the more interesting and varied. Wallflower, calendula, kale, ornamental corn, millet, grasses and chili […]

ePlantSource, an online broker of live goods to professional greenhouse growers in North America, is now accepting orders at ePlantSource.com. This proprietary eCommerce site provides growers with a self-service, price-efficient, system to place, track and edit orders. The online storefront streamlines the supply chain, provides up-to-the-moment availability and furnishes instant order updates and shipment notifications. The site is live and can be viewed at www.ePlantSource.com. Visitors will have access to an online catalog with more than 9,000 varieties, availability for more than 22,000 products and the opportunity to place seamless orders for the 2013/2014 season. Live demos will demonstrate ePlantSource at booth 2810 at OFA Short Course Convention in Columbus, Ohio, July 13 to 16. Additionally, the team is ready via live chat (PlantSource.com/support), phone (855-674-8440) or email (CustomerService@ePlantSource.com) to answer any questions. Gary Falkenstein, President/CEO of ePlantSource is excited to be taking the business online. “I would like to […]

Gaura ‘Sparkle White’, a beautiful and elegant “thriller” formixed containers and garden landscapes has been named an All-America Selections Winner for 2014. Bred by Kieft Seed, ‘Sparkle White was chosen for its long flowering time andimpressive stature, and it thrilled judges in trials nationwide. ‘Sparkle White’ is a durable, heat and drought tolerant variety that has a carefree lifecycle. It is not prone to insects or disease. In addition to its excellent garden performance,‘Sparkle White’ is faster than other seed gaura by 2 to 3 weeks, comprable to vegetative plants in terms of crop time. “Winning an All-America Selections award for ‘Sparkle White’ is very satisfying, as AAS is a trusted and established testing organization in North America,” says Mary O’Connor,Global Product Manager for Kieft Seed. “Consumers will enjoy adding ‘Sparkle White’ to their home garden designs, and growers will enjoy the ease of producing this winner.” As a 2014 […]

I know I am not really becoming older, and I know I am certainly not growing wiser. Yet every now and then I learn that something I’ve said in the past has taken root in the minds of many people, and it reappears in the most extraordinary ways. I often tell my students that what you say and what you write may not seem especially profound to you, but it might be especially meaningful to others. Celebrating Allan’s Career At The University Of Georgia Allan Armitage isn’t leaving the industry. He actually may become more involved in some areas than ever before. However, he is retiring from the University of Georgia, where he has prepared countless students for careers in horticulture during the last few decades. He was also responsible for beginning the University of Georgia’s Trial Gardens, where he has developed many outstanding plants of his own and evaluated […]

Plants bred in colder regions often don’t have as much heat tolerance, and plants bred for heat tolerance can be somewhat less able to deal with early-season cold greenhouses and wet soil conditions. Each grower needs to experiment and decide what works best in his or her location.

Petunia ‘Cha-Ching Cherry’ from Ball FloraPlant is an eye-catcher due to its deep wine-colored flowers with a light yellow star. A compact mounded habit adds to the appeal of this grower-friendly plant, which is perfect for hanging baskets and combination planters. This unique and special petunia is still grower-friendly. Produce and time it alongside other popular novelty petunias. ‘Cha-Ching Cherry’ makes stunning hanging baskets A height of 10 to 16 inches and spread of 16 to 10 inches make it a versatile plant for landsape beds and gardens as well. and it shows equally well in mixed containers.

Begonia ‘Shadow King Green-pink Tips’ is a member of the Shadow King Rex begonia series, which is suited for shady areas and can be grown as indoor, patio and outdoor plants. All of the Shadow King varieties are designed to provide excellent color for shady locations, and ‘Shadow King Green-pink Tips’ has gorgeous multi-colored pink, green and white foliage in a unique and eye-catching pattern. Along with the others in the series, Green-pink Tips has a significantly more compact habit and great rosette branching. Other colors in the series are Cool White, Lava Red, Moonlight, Rothko, Strawberry Lime and Pink.

The Pentas Starcluster series wowed visitors at Spring Trials with its huge flowers and tall, sturdy stems. At 22-inches tall, Pentas Starcluster is a premium cutting flower or large pot plant. It comes in four colors: red, lavender, white and rose. Part of the Heat Lovers series, Starcluster is bred to perform through hot summer conditions. The huge flower clusters are supported by strong stems to ensure consistent quality and consumer interest at retail. Its well-branched habit makes Starcluster a show-stopper in landscapes and in gallons or larger containers. Consumers will appreciate the series’ low-maintenance performance that requires no deadheading as new flowers form over spent blooms.

Digiplexis ‘Illumination Flame,’ bred by Thompson & Morgan and presented by Cultivaris, is a striking hybrid between two genera: digitalis and a digitalis relative native to the Canary Islands called isoplexis. The result is a vigorous plant with gorgeous foliage and beautiful spikes of rose-colored flowers with an orange throat. Flowers appear all summer long, and the plant is 3 feet tall when in bloom. The plants are bushy in habit and sterile. Flowering begins in the spring after four to six weeks of cool temperatures. Plants are hardy in USDA Zones 8 to 11. Digiplexis ‘Illumination Flame’ also won the Plant of the Year award at the 2012 Chelsea Flower Show.

The Candy Showers snapdragon from Sakata is the first-ever trailing snapdragon from seed. The series includes orange, rose, red, yellow and deep purple varieties and is beautiful as a stand-alone or as a mix in hanging baskets and containers. It has durable, strong stems, which hold up in the garden and make shipping easy. Candy Showers blooms easily under short days. It can be sold in fall or spring and is an excellent addition to fall trailing pansy sales. The series’ trailing habit is ideal for hanging baskets and mixed containers and as a colorful groundcover

Petunia ‘Sweetunia Johnny Flame’ from Dümmen has large, beautiful bright rose-purple flowers patterned with a deep-purple flame. It is bursting with color and is sure to steal the show in any garden or container. Johnny Flame is easy to grow and has a semi-upright, mounded habit that allows it to mix well in combinations. It’s a scene-stealer in baskets and landscape beds. Johnny Flame responds well to general PGR applications and is daylength neutral for early, natural flowering.

Petunia ‘Surfinia Heavenly Blue’ packs some serious flower power with its abundant, wavy-petalled lavender-blue flowers. Surfinias are vigorous and fast-growing, and perfect for landscape and container plantings. ‘Surfinia Heavenly Blue’ has a trailing habit. Flowers spill over the edge and down the sides of containers. It’s beautiful in hanging baskets, window boxes and pots. In a landscape planting, plants have a spread of 8 feet in diameter. Culture Surfinias bloom continuously, from spring to fall, and grow best in full sun. They need moist, well-drained soil and regular fertilization. Use a high-nitrogen fertilizer with iron. In containers, fertilize weekly. In the ground, fertilize every month. Pruning or pinching are not necessary; Surfinia petunias are self-cleaning.

It’s time for you, our readers, to decide which variety is selected as the Medal of Excellence Readers’ Choice Award winner for 2013. Breeders and plant introducers have entered their top varieties, and Greenhouse Grower readers will select their favorite from our three finalists: Petunia ‘Cha-Ching Cherry’ from Ball FloraPlant Echinacea ‘Supreme Cantaloupe’ from Blooms of Bressingham Mandevilla ‘Sun Parasol Red Emperor’ from Suntory Flowers Which of these category winners will be recognized as the best new plant introduction of 2013? You decide. The Readers’ Choice Award winner will be revealed July 15th at Greenhouse Grower’s Evening of Excellence at OFA Short Course. Click here to cast your vote for the Readers’ Choice Award winner right now!

It’s easy to get lost among the dozens of new geraniums, baskets of calibrachoas and verbenas and hundreds of petunias, coleus, alyssums, gerberas, mums and more at Spring Trials. By the time I got to the last stop, it was beginning to blend together into one big calipetunigerbamum. But in all seriousness, it was so impressive to see the outstanding genetics and beautifully grown plants, all presented by breeders who are genuinely passionate about the plants they offer. By the end of the trip, however, some trends had become apparent among the plethora of new plants. First, there were more edibles than ever, with breeders telling me they plan to keep increasing the category. Some were bringing in genetics from their food production divisions to make the plants or seeds available to the home market for the first time. Others were developing plants specifically for small-space gardening, designed to be […]